Working with Your Hands
EPHESIANS 4:28
IN EPHESIANS 4:28 WE ARE GIVEN A THIRD PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION of how to “Walk Worthy” (4:1) as New Men and New Women of God. Let’s review: In v. 25 we were instructed to “Speak Truth”…
NAS Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
AND IN VV. 26-27, LAST WEEK’S BLOG, WE GIVEN PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION on “Being Angry”…
NAS Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
NOW IN V. 28, PAUL GIVES A THIRD PRACTICAL EXHORTATION. I have titled this message “Working with your Hands”…
NAS Ephesians 4:28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
PAUL IS CONTRASTING STEALING WITH WORKING. Please note the word contrast. This verse is a contrast between the Old Man and the New Man, the Old Life with its selfish way of thinking and the New Life controlled by Christ.
“THIS SIMPLE VERSE DEALS WITH THE CONCEPTS OF THEFT, COMMUNITY, productivity, and stewardship. The Old Testament respect of property is affirmed, but property is to be shared, not held tightly. The community of believers must be a need-discerning community. If a need exists, the community has a responsibility to help meet that need. This verse recognizes human needs as real and legitimate, as opposed to the illegitimate and deceitful desires mentioned in 2:3 and 4:22. Needs are those necessities – material (v. 28) or immaterial (v. 29) – that enable life before God, whereas desires (v. 22) are needs distorted by self-centeredness, pulling us away from God.” – Snodgrass
THERE IS A LOT IN THIS SEEMINGLY SIMPLE VERSE!
“ALL OF US COME INTO THE WORLD FOR A BRIEF TIME, AND we spend most of it yelling ‘Pay attention to me!’ We feel justified in satisfying ourselves, even at cost to others. From the time we are old enough to recognize objects, we want what the other person has – if for no other reason, so that they will not have it. Ephesians 4:28 ignites a bomb under all our self-centered thinking. Our goal is not enjoyment; it is productivity so that we can give. We do not exist for ourselves, but for relationships with other people and with God.” – Snodgrass
VERSE 28 IS ABOUT WORK. Working not only for ourselves, but for the benefit of others.
SOME MIGHT THINK THIS IS A VERSE MAINLY ABOUT STEALING. Ralph Steadman, a pastor-writer who is now with the Lord but who, though not considered a scholar, wrote a number of very insightful books of N.T. commentary, said this: “The true sense of this verse is an unequivocal demand that Christians stop stealing.”
BUT I RESPECTFULLY THINK WHEN PAUL’S WORDS ARE GRAMMATICALLY considered, Paul’s admonitions about not stealing are seen as precursors to the main exhortation to work and the purpose clause that follows. As in v. 25, which we just read, the initial negative emphasizes the following positive: “Stop lying; speak truth.” Here the same order of negative-positive is “Stop stealing; work.”
ONE COMMENTATOR TITLED THIS PASSAGE, “FROM STEALING TO SHARING” (MacArthur). I think that is particularly good because when this verse is carefully examined, it is not a contrast so much of stealing and working, but selfishness and selflessness. The Christian is to work for the purpose not only of addressing his needs but so he can have something to give to others in need.
WHERE ELSE BUT CHRISTIANITY DO YOU FIND SUCH A THOUGHT given such consistent prominence?
IT IS OFTEN HELPFUL TO OUR UNDERSTANDING TO COMPARE OTHER VERSIONS of the passage. First the NIV…
NIV Ephesians 4:28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
THE OLD KING JAMES TRANSLATION OF V. 28 IS…
KJV Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
AND THE NLT TRANSLATION…
NLT Ephesians 4:28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
AND FINALLY THE ESV TRANSLATION…
ESV Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
FOUR SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VIEWS ON V.28. Each is good. I think the old KJV and the NLT, because of their choice of words regarding work are especially good: the KJV says “labor” and the NLT uses the term “hard work.” I say that because of their interpretations of the Greek text.
THE GREEK WORD IS κοπιάω (ka-pi-a-o), A WORD WHICH MEANS HARD WORK. BDAG, the leading Greek lexicon in the world today, defines it: to exert oneself physically, mentally, or spiritually, work hard, toil, strive, struggle.
“THE POINT IS THAT THE LABOR EXERTED IS EXHAUSTING. In this context, the stealer used to obtain things with little effort, but with the acquisition of the new person all things are acquired with labor that requires much effort.” – Hoehner
BACK TO STEALING. “Paul says, ‘he who has been stealing (or is stealing; it’s a present tense participle – TAR) must steal no longer.’ Why? Because all theft, whether it is a billion-dollar break-in at Fort Knox or making unauthorized copies on the copy machine at the office – is an expression of the old, fallen, egocentric life that has been crucified on the cross. It is the old self that craves unearned gain, and looks for any shortcuts to riches. That is a deceitful urge, an urge that lies to you.” – Steadman
“NO ONE IS COMPLETELY FREE FROM THE TEMPTATION TO STEAL. Many children go through a phase of thinking it is fun to steal, sometimes simply for the sake of stealing. There is a certain fleshly attraction in taking that which does not belong to us and trying to get by with it. The old self had a built-in inclination to steal, and that is one of the many characteristics of the old self that ‘the new self, which is in the likeness of God’ (v. 24) puts away. The Christian is to steal no more.” – MacArthur
SCHOLARS POINT OUT THAT PAUL MAY WELL HAVE HAD SLAVES IN MIND. “Though we should not think exclusively of slaves, it must not be forgotten that some, perhaps, many, of the early converts to Christianity were slaves.” – Kistemaker
PAUL WAS IN PRISON IN ROME (MOST PROBABLY) WHEN HE WROTE Ephesians… During this same imprisonment he wrote the little letter Philemon in which he asked Philemon to forgive his runaway slave Onesimus…
NAS Philemon 1:1, 18 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, 18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE SLAVE ONESIMUS HAD STOLEN FROM his master.
THE GREEK WORD FOR “STEAL” IS κλέπτω (klep-to), from which we get our English word kleptomaniac. A kleptomaniac is one who has an obsessive desire to steal.
THIS VERSE MAY BE SAID SIMPLY TO BE ABOUT DOING WHAT’S RIGHT. This verse – as all practical exhortations – is about integrity. Said another way, it’s about “Walking Worthy”…
NAS Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
PAUL SAYS THOSE WHO STOLE SHOULD BE “WORKING WITH YOUR HANDS.” Usually a person steals with his hands, so in contrast he is to work with his hands…
NKJ Ephesians 4:28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
THE PARTICIPLE (ἐργαζόμενος [er-gahd-zo-my]) IS IN THE PRESENT TENSE, WHICH probably means here in this context to begin and continue to work (from Wallace).
THE NAS USES THE WORD “PERFORMING”…
NAS Ephesians 4:28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
MAYBE THE REASON “PERFORMING” WAS CHOSEN INSTEAD OF “WORKING” was an attempt to broaden the visual concept of working with one’s hands, maybe the interpreters of the NAS were concerned that “working with one’s hands” might be seen as too narrow an interpretation. My opinion.
THE GREEK WORD IS ἐργάζομαι (er-gahd-zo-my), a verb used 39 times in the N.T. BDAG defines this word: to engage in activity that involves effort. Work is activity; it involves effort; it is doing something; it is accomplishing something.
THE ENGLISH DEFINITION OF WORK BEARS THIS OUT: to exert physical or mental effort in order to do, make, or accomplish something. Synonyms of work are effort, exertion, labor, toil, grind. Work is employment, job, vocation, occupation. Work is effort, activity: it made me think of James 2:20…
NAS James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? (the old KJV, of course, says, “faith without works is dead”)… Faith is not to be stagnant but to be active. Biblical faith is belief in action…
THE GREEK NOUN FORM (ἔργον [er-gon]), work or works, is used another 176 times in the N.T. BDAG defines this word for work 1. that which displays itself in activity of any kind, deed, action. Work is that which is in contrast to rest; it is activity; it is manifestation, proof of activity. Here are a few examples of the use of the word “work” from the N.T.…
NAS Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
ESV John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
AND FROM THE O.T., THE VERY FIRST TIME THE WORD “WORK” IS FOUND, from Genesis 2:2. Here it is God who works, a fact that strongly authorizes and elevates work…
NAS Genesis 2:2 And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
THE FIRST TIME THE WORD “WORK” IS USED IN SCRIPTURE REFERRING TO MAN is in Genesis 5:29…
NAS Genesis 5:29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one shall give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”
AS YOU CAN TELL FROM JUST THESE FEW EXAMPLES, THE WORD “WORK” can have a variety of meanings and may be used in a variety of contexts. The word work is used broadly in Scripture. There are “good works,” “evil works,” “works of the flesh,” “works of the law,” “works of God,” and “works of men.” In His High Priestly Prayer to the Father the night before He went to the cross to die for our sins, the Lord Jesus prayed…
NKJ John 17:4 “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
BUT WHAT KIND OF “WORK” IS PAUL TALKING ABOUT? Jesus said in John 6…
NAS John 6:27-29 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal.” 28 They said therefore to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
IN 1 THESSALONIANS 1:3, PAUL SAID FAITH IS A WORK…
NAS 1 Thessalonians 1:3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,
BUT TRUE AS THAT IS, I DON’T BELIEVE PAUL IN EPHESIANS 4:28 IS TALKING about works of faith. In this practical passage intended to give instruction to believers on how to “Walk Worthy,” Paul is speaking about physical work, not mental or spiritual work.
“PAUL IS REFERRING TO THE STRENUOUS WORK THAT PRODUCES FATIGUE.” – Foulkes
IT IS GOD’S PLAN FOR EVERYONE TO WORK WHO IS ABLE TO DO SO…
NAS 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.
IN THIS CONTEXT, OUR CURRENT LACK OF JOBS IN THIS COUNTRY SEEMS all the more distressing. I believe we are meant by God to work…
NAS 1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.
AND NOTE THE WORDS PAUL ADDS TO THE WORD “WORK” IN EPHESIANS 4:28: “with his own hands.” How are we to interpret this phrase? Are we all to be farmers or construction workers? What about the work Pastor Matt does?…
NAS Ephesians 4:28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
I FOUND TWO OTHER PASSAGES WHERE SIMILAR TERMINOLOGY IS USED…
NKJ Acts 7:41 “And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
NAS Revelation 9:20 And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;
PAUL USED THE PHRASE DELIBERATELY IN TWO OTHER PASSAGES “as the correct conduct for believers of which he himself was a good example” (Hoehner)…
NAS 1 Corinthians 4:12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure;
NAS 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you;
“’PERFORMING WITH YOUR OWN HANDS’ STRESSES THE TRUTH THAT the norm is for every person to be responsible for his own provision, and even more, to share with those who, in spite of hard work or because of devastation or incapacity, are in need.” – MacArthur
I WOULD ADD THAT THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE IT MAY BE SEEN THAT the hands symbolize one’s life, what a person does, even who a person is…
NAS 1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
“HOLY HANDS” IN 1 TIMOTHY 2:8 REALLY MEANS HOLY LIVES.
THE WORD “HANDS” IS FOUND 438 TIMES IN THE BIBLE; that’s a lot…
WORKING WITH YOUR OWN HANDS “WHAT IS GOOD.” I think it is safe to say that however we define work, God wants our work to be good work. Paul says so in our passage…
NKJ Ephesians 4:28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
“OUR LABOR SHOULD BE IN ‘WHAT IS GOOD,’ in work that is honest, honorable, and productive. The Greek word for ‘good,’ the term ἀγαθός (a-ga-thos) essentially means a good that is useful, beneficial, good in quality. Here in v. 28 it most probably refers to God-honoring employment.” – MacArthur/TAR… That would certainly include our pastors.
THE WORD “THAT” (ἱνα [hee-na]) IS A VERY IMPORTANT AND REVEALING WORD in v. 28. It tells us the purpose of “Working with Our Hands.”
WE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF HELPING OTHERS. “The Christian philosophy of labor is thus lifted far above the thought of what is right or fair in the economic realm; it is lifted to the place where there is no room for selfishness or the motive of personal profit at all.” Foulkes
“GETTING BECOMES THE MOTIVE FOR GIVING.” – Foulkes… One of the main reason God gives us money – especially money above our basic needs – is so that we can give it away to others in need. There’s an exquisite beauty in that, don’t you agree?
NAS Ephesians 4:28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
THAT’S RADICAL CHRISTIANITY! This passage should cause all of us to align our personal perspectives on getting and giving. We’re not to think like the world thinks: “Me, myself, and mine!” We’re to think like the New Man, the New Woman, whose perspectives have been transformed by Jesus!
TO WHOM IS PAUL REFERRING? Who is “him who has need”? Most probably the answer is found in another of Paul’s letters, the letter to the Galatians. With v. 28 in mind, listen to Paul’s words from Galatians 6:10…
NAS Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
“GENEROSITY, PARTICULARLY TO FELLOW BELIEVERS, was to be part and parcel of the Christian lifestyle, but when it was practiced by a former thief it stands in total contrast to his pervious course of life.” – O’Brien
THE PRINCIPLE APPLIES ESPECIALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY TO BELIEVERS.
HERE ARE TWO PASSAGES THAT SPEAK MEMORABLY TO this important point; first, these words from Jesus…
NAS Luke 14:13-14 “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
AND NOW FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL IN ACTS 20…
NAS Acts 20:33-36 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THIS BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON WORK IS sadly lacking in our modern “me first” culture.
“CHRISTIANS WHO WORK HARD NOT ONLY SUPPORT THEIR OWN NEEDS BUT also have resources to help others as well. Some people work to live the good life, buy things, and build their self-esteem. However, Christ has given believers new lives so they can become benefactors. They are to work not only to meet their own needs but also to meet others’ needs.” – Garner
“THE GRACE OF GENEROSITY IS PART AND PARCEL OF THE CHRISTIAN WAY of life, but when it is practiced by a former thief it stands in total contrast to his previous course of life.” – Bruce
“TOTAL CONTRAST”: PAUL IS SAYING THAT IS TO MARK OUR LIVES as Christians. We once lived for ourselves, and now we are to live for others. We once were lost, but now we are found. We once were blind, but now we see. We once were controlled by the Old Man, but now – through the power of the Holy Spirit – we have put on the New Man in Christlikeness. We once walked unworthily, but now we “Walk Worthy.” Contrast. Renovation. Transformation.
MORE PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION FROM GOD FOR US TODAY from the great book of Ephesians on how to “Walk Worthy.”
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
